MT set to battle Cincinnati in Emerald Coast Classic

NICEVILLE, Fla. - Middle Tennessee is (3-1) is slated to face a 4-0 Cincinnati team in game three in the inaugural Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla. on Friday, November 28 at 5 p.m.

The Blue Raiders traveled down to Florida to conclude the Emerald Coast Classic after hosting their first two game.

MT grabbed two victories to open the tournament with a 66-48 victory over Southern on Saturday and a 65-53 win against Northern Arizona on Tuesday. Middle Tennessee will take on Creighton or Ole Miss to conclude the tournament on Saturday, November 29th.

GAME INFORMATION
(FULL GAME NOTES)

Date: Friday, Nov. 28
Time: 5 p.m. CT
Teams:Cincinnati vs. Middle Tennessee
Location: Niceville, Fla.
Arena: Emerald Coast Classic Arena
Tickets to the Emerald Coast Classic
Webstream: http://www.emeraldcoastclassic.com/
Radio: WMOT (89.5 FM), 97.5, 100.5, 101.9, 102.5, 1450 (Stream 1)
Play-by-Play: Dick Palmer
Color Analyst: Kyle Turnham

BLUE RAIDER BULLETS

Octavius Ellis lead the Bearcats with 11.8 points per game and 9.0 rebounds.
Cincinnati is undefeated in its first four games of the 2014-15 season with victories over Saint Francis (52-37), Morehead State (69-61), Eastern Illinois (54-49) and N.C. Central (59-50).
During the Coach Davis era the Blue Raiders are 18-19 on neutral ground as they are set for two neutral games in Niceville, Fla.
MT has seen double-double performances from two players this season with Jacquez Rozier grabbing a double-double vs. Murray State and Reggie Upshaw Jr. securing the double-double against Northern Arizona.
The Blue Raiders had four players score double digits against the Lumberjacks as Perrin Buford led the way with 16 points, followed by Upshaw (12), Rozier (10) and Tarrance (10).
As the lone four-year senior, Rozier is making his presence known this season, averaging 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds for the Blue Raiders in their first four games.
The Blue Raiders have recorded three-consecutive 20+ win season; tied for the most consecutive 20-win seasons in Middle Tennessee history.
In the last two games Marcus Tarrance has come off the bench against for dominating performances where he recorded a career-high in points (18) and rebounds (6) against Southern and followed with a 10 point performance against NAU.
Head Coach Kermit Davis is 15 wins from his 250th career win at Middle Tennessee.
Edward Simpson and JaQuel Richmond have both garnered starts for the Blue Raiders as Richmond leads the team with 9 assists this season while Simpson has 6 assists.
Buford landed his first start against Southern after transferring here from Southwest Tennessee State. He's averaging 9.0 points per game with 14 rebounds in 69 minutes played to start the year. Buford recorded a career-high 16 points against NAU in his second start for the Blue Raiders.
The Blue Raiders will face Ole Miss or Creighton in the final game of the Emerald Coast Classic on Saturday. The Bluejays are currently ranked No. 23 nationally. After the Emerald Coast Classic neutral site games Middle Tennessee is slated for a four-game road swing starting with Belmont on December 2 followed by South Alabama (Dec. 6), Akron (Dec. 13) and Oklahoma State (Dec. 16).

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Players Mentioned

Perrin Buford

JaQuel Richmond

Jacquez Rozier

Edward Simpson

Marcus Tarrance

Reggie Upshaw

Middle Tennesee State University Athletics